Florida job cuts less than 500 in April

May 1, 2014|By Marcia Heroux Pounds

Florida employers cut 459 jobs in April, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement firm that tracks downsizing announcements. That's significantly less than the 2,278 in April a year ago, Challenger said in its monthly report Thursday.

More good news for South Florida: none of the largest job cuts were in our region. There were job cuts at Head Start in Jacksonville, due to federal sequestration budget cuts; at Edwin Watts in Fort Walton Beach, which closed; and Del-Jen in Gainesville, which restructured, Challenger said.

Nationwide, however, job cuts rose by 17 percent as employers in retail and financial services continued to shed workers. Employers announced plans to cut 40,298 workers from payrolls in April.

"Among the retailers announcing cuts in April was Coldwater Creek, which never found its footing after the recession and was forced to declare bankruptcy and shutter 350 stores," said John Challenger, chief executive.